Lessons he Learnt
by fashiongirl97
Summary: Bucky has worked with Rayna for many years. He's watched her grow as a person, as an artist and now as the head of a record label. He's stood by her through some of the hardest times she's ever experienced, and he's learnt a lesson or two from her as well . . .
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** _Nashville is not mine_

**Author's note** _This will be a series of one shots, they are not in date order, and will flick around. There will be about 5 or so of them, and i hope that you will enjoy them. Additionally, if you have any suggestions then let me know!_

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**Lessons he Learnt**

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_**Lesson #1**_

Rayna stood there, in the middle of the stage looking out at a deserted auditorium. The lines upon lines of folded plastic seats spread out up high above her. Large industrial lights cast artificial white light throughout the whole place. The faint hum of electricity as the lighting was tested and smoke machines were plugged in. The muggy air caused by the heat of all the equipment.

A feeling of being nothing but a small insignificant figure in a massive world washed over her.

Her form looked so small in the middle of that stage, no glitter, not short dresses and no hairspray. Just Rayna, stood there taking in everything she had become. Everything she had fought tooth and nail to achieve. Taking in the fact that people had paid to see her stand on that stage, not to see the act she was opening for.

She'd fought her family.

She'd fought tradition in that her music what not what was once classed as country.

She fought negative reviews.

Secrets unearthed.

Stars scared she'd take their fame.

Everyone who had stood in her way had been fought to reach this. So that she could reach the point where she was stood about to do her first sound check for her first headline tour. Her first _arena_ headline tour. Something which that young girl sneaking out of the house of a weekend to play honky tonks and dives had only ever dreamt that she would one day manage to achieve.

* * *

Deacon stood at the side, watching her watch the arena. He'd seen her work harder than anyone to get to this day, seen her as she cried at night because of the negative reviews that she had to pretend didn't bother her. He'd stayed up until the early hours of the morning quizzing her on who people were so that she knew every person who might be at a party. So she could be the perfect up and coming star.

And it had been his doorstep she turned up on that day when her daddy kicked her out.

This was her dream, but it was his too. He might not be the star, but the audience knew who he was, and one of these days he knew it would be his song that she sang. For now though, he was simply happy in the knowledge that he had helped her get there, helped her get to the point where she was playing to a sold out arena. Helped the inevitable become reality in that Rayna Jaymes was a star.

Slowly he walked forward, heading in the direction of the singer. Her hair tied up in a messy bun, dressed in a pair of cut off shorts that were certainly working for him, and a shirt he was pretty sure had once been his. In fact one he had been looking for not all at long ago. Her feet were clad in those well worn boots he's first met her wearing. The ones that had ended up on his bedroom floor more times than he could count and ones that were still slightly scuffed from climbing out of a window to meet him back when she lived in the country club.

The guitar player slowly approached her, the sound of his own boots causing her to turn around and look at him. Her sparking eyes took in his appearance, and the smile on her face was priceless. Even with the artificial lights shining harshly on her pale - makeup free - skin she looked amazing.

Sometimes he wondered just what he had done to be so lucky that his job was what he loved, and he woke up every morning with no covers over him because the woman beside him had stolen them in the night.

Neither one said anything as he wrapped his arms around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder as both of them looked out at the arena in front of them. Both imagining what it would look like that evening. She wondered if there would be posters with her name on, wondered if they would shout her name, sing along to the big songs or wave lighters in the air to the slow ones. Whether they would accept her for her music...

Truth be told she was more than a little scared about the performance. But then, whenever she was scared, she'd be reminded that she wasn't going be out there alone. Aside from her band she'd also have Deacon there beside of her. One look in those eyes and she would be know that he had all the confidence in the world of her.

"They're going to love you." He whispered in her ear as he stood there, and she wondered how he had known just what she was thinking. How he had known that she was fearing the performance she was about to give.

"I hope so, I'm so scared I'll forget my words of fall or something." She said, barely more than a whisper as she responded. Her head was still resting against his shoulder. The smell of coffee, aftershave and his washing powder filling her senses and making her feel as though she was in the safest place that had ever existed.

"Darlin', you've made me practice those songs with you a million times over. You wear those heels all the time and as for making a fool of yourself, well even if you do it will make them remember you. Just be you and they will fall under your spell - I did." She turned around to look at him, catching that smirk that made her go weak at the knees.

"You're such a charmer!" She laughed, looking at him, before linking her arms around his neck and giving him a smile of her own which she knew would have exactly the same effect on him, as his had had on her.

Their attraction to one another would never fade - that was something both of them were certain of.

Soon their lips were touching and they were kissing one another as though they were completely out of sight. It was only when a cough sounded that they pulled apart both flushed from the intimacy, but neither embarrassed. Rayna turned to see her manager stood there, looking slightly awkward. But she wasn't embarrassed, not these days, they'd been caught in much more compromising positions by him numerous times.

In fact she was pretty surprised he even felt awkward at all considering the things he had seen over the years.

"What's up Buck?" She questioned, not even moving from her position wrapped up in her lover's arms in the middle of the stage.

"They're ready to do sound check," he responded as the band suddenly filtered onto the stage and she just nodded. "You ready?"

"Course I am." Rayna untangled herself from her guitar player's arms - much to his displeasure. "You better get your guitar babe" and with that said she went to go and grab her ear piece and crystal encrusted mike, and he did as he was told.

Bucky stood there, watching the pair as they worked flawlessly in sync-

Rayna and deacon shared a look and both nodded before turning to the band and saying; "It's My Life is up first" and then, the sound of those chords began to filter out through the stadium, and Rayna's nerves were gone. She felt at home, singing her heart out and telling it her story through the music.

Not long after the chords started playing her voice filtered through the airspace, flawless as she hit those perfect notes.

* * *

Bucky admired them, the way they had managed to be able to mix and manage sleeping together with working together and touring together. The way they managed to deal with the press. He admired her, for everything she had fought to get there, and he admired him for standing back and watching her shine.

As years went on, and Bucky watched Rayna Jaymes grow into something even more spectacular, his respect for her grew impossibly more. On that day he had never imagined the things she would have to battle, the problems that country's next Johnny and June would have to face.

He wished they wouldn't have to.

But Bucky never lost faith in her, not when she invested everything in highway 65 and it looked like it was her worst decision, not when her personal life was falling down around her feet. Because when you have had to fight so hard to get there, had to fight with everything you have and with everyone you love - that is when you fight even harder not to lose it.

That was the most important lesson he had learnt from Rayna Jaymes, that and when you don't like what someone wants you to do, you tell them where to shove it, but that was another story...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** _Nashville is not mine_

**Authors note** _Just a note, i'm british hence the little being 'lessons he learnt' and not 'lessons he learned', I don't like the latter as much - too many syllables anyway. Thanks for the reviews, suggestions are welcomes. _

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**Lessons he Learnt**

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_**Lesson #2 **_

Rayna Jaymes walked into her front room with slight smile on her face. It was spring, the birds were singing, the air had warmed and her latest single was going to drop as of midnight in two days. The living room had floor to ceiling panelled windows that looked out over the small decked area with his and hers seats, and the countryside that rolled out beyond, in that moment life was certainly good.

She and Deacon had seen this house back when they were writing together, in between his shifts at the Bluebird and her sneaking out of the Country Club without getting caught by Good 'Ole Lamar. Rayna had loved it even back then, when it was half falling apart and some guy Deacon knew was doing it up by hand. She'd always remember the night he took her down to that very house for their first date. They'd sat out on the deck that night looking up at the stars, with a few bears in ice, his guitar on his knee and a massive bag of crisps. A notepad had laid in-between them and the lyrics had flowed simultaneously with the chords. It had been as close to perfect as reality could possibly get.

They'd written Back Home that night.

They'd only recently moved into the house now, but it felt like home already. Their few belongings had been placed in the rooms, and they were scavenging for more all the time. So when she walked into the empty room, Bucky and Deacon were sat on the old worn leather couch that had come from Deacon's old flat. "Hey Buck." Rayna brightly greeted her manager as she walked over and hugged him gently. She was dressed in a pair of leggings and one of Deacon's old plaid shirts. It had gotten to the point where when she was at home, that was all she ever wore. Except when Tandy was coming over, then she would wear her own clothes (or at least mainly her own) because the country singer was well aware that with every visit her sister made a detailed report was filed off to her father.

"Hey Ray." Her manager said, and the singer moved to squish between the two main men in her life on the sofa, making both of them chuckle. She smiled at Deacon, and his hand took a hold of hers. It seemed no matter whether they lived together and saw each other every waking minute, or whether they only saw each other when she had managed to sneak out, the spark was still there. The attraction was still magnetic and it felt like it always would be. Rayna didn't want their relationship to ever lose that.

"So, what's going on?" She questioned, turning her head to Bucky. Her face had changed, it had set and that told the whole world that she was ready to do business. It was something that every artist and every person in the industry she had ever worked with had admired her for. How she could have fun, and laugh and joke, but them as soon as it was needed of her she was back business minded and ready to work.

"I spoke to Edgehill." Bucky began, and the singer simply rolled her eyes, she knew that whatever her manager said next was not going to be good. A sentence that began by mentioning her label never was. The small backstreet label she had signed with had grown extremely fast of late, and as the company grew so did its ego. "They are not approving you go out on a headline tour."

"What?!" The singer questioned, raising her eyebrows at the comment. The tour would be her first headline tour. She had opened up for a couple of artist on large tours in the past year, George Strait on his latest cross country tour and then Garth Brooks on his arena tour. With her new album dropping soon they'd all decided that now would be the perfect time to do her own one. It would be nothing massive or extravagant, just small theatres and concert halls singing good songs. And it would all begin to with an Opry performance of her latest single in two days.

Obviously Edgehill had different ideas.

"They say you don't even have a song in the charts yet let alone an album, they're claiming it will be a massive waste of money." Bucky stated, watching as the blood boiled in the singer. She had a temper to match her auburn hair, and was one person you didn't want to cross.

"So what do they plan on me doing instead?" She questioned, exasperated and she fell back against Deacon. The guitar player remained silent and simply wrapped his arm around her. This was the area of the industry that he didn't do so well in. This was where Rayna was a heck of a lot better than him, and when he let her get on with it. Even if the whole thing made him want to go and punch the idiots in suits.

"They want you to open for Shania Twain." As Bucky spoke Rayna closed her eyes and sighed. "It's a good tour; I mean it is twenty odd shows in the US and then the same number in Europe and Australia." Even as Bucky spoke he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. Rayna, in her mind at least, had outgrown being an opening act. Even if it was for one hell of a tour. If he was honest he couldn't blame her either. The first album had gone platinum, and the next was looking like it would do the same.

"No, I'm not doing that Bucky. You know I won't."

"Then they're threatening to drop all funding. We'd have to find another way to pay of it."

"Then we will do that, because I sure as hell ain't gonna be some opening act when my latest album in about to drop." Rayna said as she stood up as grabbed the phone and began to dial the familiar number. Bucky and Deacon shared a look of concern before turning to look at Rayna.

When Deacon and Rayna had first started working together _and _publicly dating, Bucky had thought that it spelled disaster. After all there were very few people who managed to ever actually make it work; there was only one Johnny and June after all. The chances of it all going belly up were high. Then he'd watched them together, he'd watched them working, walked in on them writing in the middle of a tour and he'd seen the magic. He'd seen the way that everything else didn't matter when they were together and he'd realised that his opinion just wouldn't stop them.

"What you doing Ray?" Deacon asked as she placed the landline to her ear, hand on her hip and foot tapping. The whole sight was of the diva side of Rayna Jaymes, but it was also a side which was seriously turning Deacon on as he watched her.

"Telling Edgehill that they can shove their idea where the sun doesn't shine." She answered matter-of-factly. Deacon just laughed and Bucky sighed, knowing that he was unable to stop her, but it may just ruin everything they'd worked for.

* * *

He never did forget that day, and it wasn't the last time she told Edgehill where to shove it. Rayna went through many Label Executives, and had many arguments with them. But it was years before she ever even bordered on making an enemy out of one of them. And as her career grew, Bucky never forgot the most controversial lesson working with Rayna Jaymes ever taught him: when you don't like what someone wants you to do, you tell them where to shove it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** _I don't own Nashville_

**Authors note** _This chapter is slightly less Rayna/Deacon, but i thought it was an important one to have in it. _

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**Lessons he Learnt**

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_**Lesson #3**_

Rayna Jaymes was an hour away from going on Good Morning America live to promote her latest album. An hour away from sitting on that sofa, live, on national TV and telling the whole world what had inspired her latest single; The Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts. She was an hour away from desperately attempting not to tell the whole world that the song was actually one hundred and ten percent about Deacon Clayborne. The Guitarist, who, was currently _just _her guitarist, and at that moment in time was setting up with the rest of the band in preparation for her performance which would close the show.

_Just _her guitarist, nothing more –

-That was what she had promised not only Teddy, when she'd approached him with the idea of Deacon rejoining her band, but what she had promised herself too. She'd been down that road before; _hell _she'd been down that road way more than once. After she'd dropped him off at rehab for the last time, and then given birth to the daughter he knew nothing about, she'd told herself that this was it. That after all she was now married to teddy Conrad – a man who _should _make her happy. A man, who was successful within the business community, a man who her father liked, and whom her sister had introduced her too. A man, who knew that Maddie was not his but still wanted to be her father.

When she'd stood up on stage for the first time since Maddie was born a year ago, with a new guitarist it had all felt wrong. The chords didn't flow, and the riffs weren't there. The lyrics seemed as though they had lost the meaning that made them so special. It just didn't work, even Bucky had seen it. So she'd fired the guy and got a new one, in fact she ended up firing and hiring over ten guys until Bucky sat her down and told her there was only one person who would ever be up to her standard and whom she would not wind up firing within mere hours.

That was when she'd had to delicately tell Teddy that Deacon would be going back on tour with her. And as soon as she had gotten back on stage with him it all fell into place and felt like old times again. Her and Deacon had worked the stage just like the pros they were, opening up their hearts and sharing their deepest and darkest emotions as they sang the songs that they'd written throughout the entirety of their relationship. They'd smiled the entire time, gazed off into one another's eyes and put on one hell of a show that none of her fans would ever forget. Shows that the reviewers loved and the tabloids went wild for. But that was it, it was all a show. When the curtain closed, it closed off their feeling too.

Or at least that was what she told herself.

Rayna had been denying the long looks shared not only on the stage but backstage. Ignoring the casual brush of their fingertips that were not at all required and the sparks that flew all over her body and quickly turned into a blaze. But he was _just_ her guitarist. And _that_ was the biggest lie of the century.

He would never be _just _anything, never _just _a guitarist, _just _a songwriter, _just _a friend.

Sighing she ran a hand through her hair as she looked at him from across the room. With that old Gibson he had bought out of the money they earned on their first tour. The guitar was slung around his neck, and the strap with his name on was the one she had bought him on their first Christmas together - back before the alcoholism and the dark nights. Everything seemed so easy back then. In fact looking back on it all made it feel like a lifetime ago now.

They'd never get back to being anything like they had been; partly because of him, partly because of Teddy but mainly because of her. She'd promised her family that she would never tell him about Maddie's paternity, promised that it would always be strictly 'uncle Deacon' and nothing more. _That_ was something she had fought to be allowed anyway. But in her mind, he may not be able to be her dad, but he should at least be part of her life. She couldn't let him and her get too close again, because if they did then she was positive that she would end up telling him the truth about her daughter and just who her father was.

The vibration of her phone ringing in her pocket brought her out her thoughts. It would have been so easy to simply tell him. On one of the many nights they had spent song writing on tour, when she'd let her guard down after a couple of glasses of champagne at the after party and he was upstairs in his room or just an arm's length away talking. On the tour bus one night when she was lying in her double bed awake knowing that he was awake just a door of meters away. It would all have been so very easy to let those words fall from her lips. But she hadn't. She wouldn't. She couldn't.

Pulling her phone out she saw it was Teddy, sighing she answered the phone, and forced herself to sound as though she hadn't been fantasising about doing something that would no doubt end her marriage. "Hey, what's going on?" She questioned, looking away from Deacon and over at the set where the hosts were sitting with the brightly coloured background around them. She mentally wondered why it had to be so bright because it would most definitely clash with her hair colour and not look good in all the scream caps that would soon be on the internet.

"Look Rayna, I know that you are all the way in New York, but I thought that you would want to know." Teddy began, he sounded so pathetic on the phone, he always had, and she wondered how he managed to be a success when so much of his work was done that way. She knew that she certainly would not do business with him if she heard him on the phone and was one of his prospective clients.

"What's happened? Is Maddie okay?" She questioned, worst case scenarios running through her mind as she thought about her daughter once more who was all those hundreds of miles away.

"She's okay, got a little bit of a snuffle, but I think she should be okay. It's your sister, she's in the hospital, it's not serious, but she was coming out of a meeting and got hit by a car. She's broken a couple of bones and stuff but I wanted to tell you first-"

"I'll get the next flight out. I'll tell Bucky to rearrange this interview - they can talk to me some other time." She said, instantly planning everything. She and Tandy had not had the most amazing relationship known to man ever since their mother died. It had gotten worse every time Rayna had forgiven Deacon when he left yet another stint in rehab or promised her that he would cut the drinking out. But since Rayna had married Teddy it had been getting better. And despite everything, she was still her sister and Rayna still cared.

"It's not that bad-"

"I don't care, I'll be there as soon as I can." And with that said the singer hung up and went in search of her manager. She found him soon after, hiding in the corner on the phone to someone or other. However as soon as he saw her making her way towards him through the crowds of people, he had hung up. Bucky knew that something was wrong just from the look on her face. "Tandy is in hospital, she was in a car accident. I need to leave Buck, I'm not doing the interview."

* * *

Bucky always admired that about Rayna, and no matter how famous she got, it never changed. She was one of the few people in the industry to whom fame wasn't the be all and end all. To whom it was about family, and making a living, and doing what she loved. Not about feeding an ego.

That was one of the most admirable lessons he learnt from the Queen of Country: it doesn't matter what the consequences are, family always comes first.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer **_Nashville is not mine_

**Author's Note **_I hope you all enjoy! There is one more chapter to come but I don't know when it will be up. I have a new story up called 'If and When' so please go check it out! Thanks for all the support_

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**Lessons he Learnt**

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_**Lesson #4**_

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The spotlights were on, beams of white light shone down from the rafters above and onto the stage that sat below. Unlike in most concerts, all the coloured beams were turned off; in fact there were only two spotlights that shone down. Two spotlights illuminating two sole figures. Two spotlights; shining down on two performers who were bearing their hearts for the whole world to see. Two artists, two musicians, who were telling a story – their story – which was as close to a modern day Romeo and Juliette as country music had got in the past decade.

The venue wasn't massive, but the acoustics and the lighting was what drew artists to it. In fact it only seated around three hundred people. It was nowhere near the biggest either of them had played, nor was it the grandest, the most modern, the most historic or the most iconic venue they had played. But like every one they had, it was special. The reason it was special was because it was a part of their story, it was another stepping stone.

However, this time around it wasn't for her that the crowd had bought tickets. In fact, this time Rayna Jaymes was just a 'special guest' about whom the audience had known nothing until he had introduced her. They weren't in that room to see the Queen of Country music belt out one of her chart topping hits, or listen to her vocals in one of her beautiful solo numbers. No, the killer heels and sparkly top were nothing more than an accessory.

It was for him they were there, for Deacon Clayborne that they had bought their tickets.

Since his album had dropped his tour had been gracing larger venues than the fifty people dives it had started in. He was no longer the opening act for Luke wheeler. A job which had – for obvious reasons – ended in a blaze of disaster when both men had their proposals turned down. Well, when Luke had his proposal turned down and Deacon had his postponed until they could fight off a few of the bigger demons in their way.

So, this time he was the main act. In fact, her presence had only been decided two hours before he stepped out onto the stage to hear the sound of fans chanting his name. Rayna had been in town for a business meeting, and neither one of them had realised that the other was in town. Deacon and Rayna were talking, building their relationship back up and for once they were working through their problems instead of brushing them under the carpet and just taking care of the sexual desire.

When they had spotted one another in the hotel lobby – a posh one (surprisingly in Deacon's case) – they had got talking. That was when he asked her to sing with him. Apparently he wanted to do a small section of his old stuff, pieces from the album he had released well over a decade ago. So, he'd asked her to join him on the stage for a rendition of 'A Life That's Good' and 'Back Home'. She'd been dubious at first, but Bucky had told her that after the recent black cloud which had resided over her head following the proposal scandal it would be a good idea.

She hadn't been so sure until she sat down next to him on a wooden stood and he began to play the all so familiar chards. Rayna had smiled at him, and he'd smiled back. "This song is one I wrote the very first time I met this lovely lady." He's said to the audience whilst he built up the rhythm. "I'd tell y'all how long ago that was but I think I'd get hit." Rayna and the audience laughed, and she was reminded why she had pushed him to release that solo album all those years ago. She'd pushed him because of the way he was on stage, the ease he had and the way he made the audience feel. "In fact this song is written about Rayna Jaymes, and it's more appropriate now that ever. Because I'm closer than I can ever recall being to having 'A Life That's Good'.

Deacon began to sing the first few lines, and she joined him for the chorus, singing the words that she had sung to both Maddie and Daphne to soothe them to sleep when they were babies. A song that Teddy had never heard because of his lack of interest in music. She guessed she'd sung it because she had always subconsciously infused Deacon into their lives, specifically into Maddie's. Even from that young of an age they'd sort of known who he was. Now it was the song that both her girls sang incessantly, and a song she would never tire of hearing.

Bucky watched from the side smiling, looking at the way that their eyes met and they sang almost to one another. The audience may as well not have been there to those two. But they both had always had a magical way of not making anyone watching feel like an intruder when they sang, but instead making them feel like they too were part of the moment. Making them feel like they were witnessing one of the most magical things that had ever been made.

When the chords filtered out she smiled at him, and he took her hand, and once more spoke a little. That had always been his thing, explaining the music to the audience. "There has always only been one place that I have felt I could call home. It's not the place I live, and it's not the place I grew up in. It's a beautiful cabin I bought back when we were just starting out. No matter what happens, it's the place I always got to; its home, I always end up 'Back Home'"

Their melodies filled the whole room once more, reaching up to the rafters and filling ever crease and crevice. Reaching the ears of everyone listening and filtering into their hearts. There was no denying she was a good singer, just as there was no denying he was a good singer. When they were alone they were two of the best, but when they were together, they were something else. It wasn't _just_ hits they sang – and they really were hits – they sang the truth. The words that they had spent time intricately stitching together, perfectly finishing off, they were something else.

They were almost a feeling.

"Thank y'all for having me; it's always an honour to share the stage with this talented man." Rayna said, smiling as she looked at Deacon. He looked not a day older in her eyes than the first day they had met. That was a lie though, of course, over twenty odd years had passed. But she still felt the same around him. "I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did, those songs, well, it's safe to say they were the soundtrack to some of the hardest times in my life, in our lives. But I think we're examples that anyone can have 'A Life That's Good'."

* * *

Bucky watched Rayna softly kiss Deacons cheek, watched as she waved to his fans and walked off the stage with a smile on her face. It was something he'd watched her do with so many artists over the years – sing at their concerts. Back when she was just an opening act a lot of the time she and Deacon had been invited to play with the main act. He'd always remember telling her that George Strait wanted to sing with them before the show ended.

But that night, watching her on stage with _that_ man, watching her tell the whole world through the words she sang just how much of a battle their story had been, it reminded him of all the times she could have given up on Deacon Clayborne. It reminded him that after any of the stints at rehab she could have decided not to wait. After dragging him out of hotels, seeing him in hospital, picking him from jail, she could have left him. But she didn't.

To many Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Clayborne had a love story, a story that Bucky did not doubt would one day be a box office sensation. But to him, their story, it was another lesson that she had taught him. Everything she had done; every demon their relationship had created, and every one they had fought off. It was a lesson that she had demonstrated, one that he wished the rest of the world knew.

The most inspiring lesson Rayna Jaymes taught him; no matter what, never lose faith in what you believe in.

She'd believed in Deacon Clayborne.


End file.
